Three elephant carcasses found in private forest near T.N.–A.P. border

Forest officials have discovered the decayed remains of three elephants, including a calf, in a private forest near the Tamil Nadu – Andhra Pradesh border.

According to a release from Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra, the find was reported on December 4 by the District Forest Officer, Vellore, after field staff detected the carcasses near a waterhole during routine patrolling in the private forest named Bhaimala.

The forest lies adjacent to the Kondapalli Reserved Forests in the Vellore division and close to Andhra Pradesh’s Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, an area known for frequent interstate elephant movement. The site is located within Tamil Nadu, approximately four to five kilometres from the State boundary.

A special team led by A. Periasamy, Chief Conservator of Forests, Villupuram, along with Sridhar, Forest Veterinary Officer at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, has been dispatched for a detailed inspection. Officials from the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation have also been asked to assist the investigation through the collection of forensic samples.

Given the proximity to the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), Andhra Pradesh, has been requested to support an interstate inquiry. Acting on this request, the Conservator of Forests, Anantapur, has deployed a team from the Chittoor division to participate in the joint investigation. Authorities stated that all possible samples will be collected and analysed to determine the cause of death.

The discovery comes barely a month after a similar incident in the same landscape. In early November, the remains of a 10-year-old female elephant were found in the Mordhana Extension Reserve Forest at Aravatla village near Pernambut, also along the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border.

Forest staff on patrol located the carcass, reduced to skeletons and hide, near a stream in hilly terrain close to the Mordhana dam. The area lies around three kilometres from the Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, on an established elephant corridor used by herds moving between the sanctuary and neighbouring Karnataka.

A post-mortem by a veterinary team from Hosur suggested the animal may have slipped from an elevated area while searching for water. The elephant was believed to have died at least six weeks earlier.

The District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore division, S. Ashok Kumar on Thursday said that water samples from the pond in a private forest area near Gudipalli Reserve Forest (RF) in Vellore will be tested to find actual cause of the death.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Kumar said that a 25-member forest team led by Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra inspected the spot, around five km from Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary (A.P) where the remains of the elephants were located early in the day by field staff.

They were accompanied by a 10-member forest team from Chittoor division (A.P). “In the preliminary inquiry, signs of electrocution or injuries on the animals were not found,” Mr. Kumar said.